Pike Place Market Seattle WA

Pike Place Market is one of the reasons that I wanted to visit Seattle WA. How could you not want to watch fish flying through the air? Yup. Fish do fly at Pike Place Market! Of course they do need a bit of assistance from playful fish mongers.

As we approached the market location, we realized that parking could be a real challenge. We drove very slowly passed the well recognized sign in the sky, hoping we’d catch someone pulling out of a spot. We’d almost given up and figured we’d just have to go around the block and try again. Suddenly, just at the end of the market, I spied a car pulling out right by the last entrance. Luck was surely on our side.

Once inside Pike Place Market we were a bit overwhelmed. It’s enormous and feels a bit like a Rubik’s Cube. Shops are right, left, up a few steps and down a few others. And judging by how crowded it was, you would have never known that we were in the middle of a pandemic.

This attraction had a very long standing history. It opened in 1907. Those first 6-12 farmers brought produce filled wagons to Pike Place on that first day on August 17. By November the first building was build and housed 76 produce stalls. Over the market’s more that 100 years it has kept expanding and bringing in more variety of goods to sell from bagels to flying fish.

We stopped at the first fresh fish stall we came to, to ask where we could see the fish fly. He told us they don’t do that anymore. My heart sank. Steve was ready to leave. But after the initial shock, I realized that those flying fish are too much a part of the market for them to ever stop doing what tourists come to the market for. And I was more determined than ever to find the right fish monger.

After walking quite a distance we came to a huge fish market. When we saw the crowd gathering we knew we had found what we came for! I had made sure we had a good vantage point when suddenly a rather ugly monk fish jumped right out of the ice toward us. The joke was on us. It was part of the entertainment! And a few seconds later, your guessed it, the fish started flying through the air. One of the men behind the display of fresh fish picked up a whole fish and flung it through the air. It went soaring right to its target as if it was a guided missile. The crowd gasped as the fish landed right in the waiting hands of another fish monger standing in the crowd. Next they selected a young boy who was so excited to be part of the show. He put out his hands and right on cue another fish flew through the air toward him. But fish are slippery devils. The first one thrown to him slid right out of his hands. He was heart broken. Of course, they gave him another try. The next time his reflexes were quicker and as soon as the fish flew into his waiting hand he gripped it tight and reveled in his accomplishment. The crowd cheered!!!

I had expected to do some shopping for some super fresh fish at the market. But when I saw the prices my jaw dropped. To call the prices expensive would be a gross understatement. Copper River salmon ranged from $69.99 to $89.99 per pound. Yikes. Who in their right mind would pay that much? And a few stalls down we found lobster tails, my very favorite, for $39.99 for very small tails and $89.99 for larger lobster tails. They weren’t even fresh. There was a sign that said “Previously frozen”. Even the produce had steep pricing. Mangoes for $4.99 each just didn’t sit well with me. Especially after getting them in Florida for like a dollar a piece.

So we left Pike Place Market Seattle WA with only one purchase. A souvenir magnet to mark our entertaining experience of watching fish fly.